12. The Craigs Plan a Barbecue
Breakfast at Woodhow was supposed to be seven-thirty, but the girls and Tommy got up at about six and spent the hour before out in the garden. It was so fascinating, Doris said, to be out-of-doors in the early morning. Sometimes when the air was warmer than the ground there would be a morning mist out of which rose clumps of tree tops like little islands.
The following day, at five-thirty exactly, Jean wakened drowsily to find Kit standing by her bed, already dressed in blue jeans and a sweater.
“I want you to look at this clock and be a witness that I’m up on time,” she said briskly, holding up an alarm clock. “It’s perfectly gorgeous outside, Jean. I don’t see how you can lie and sleep with all nature calling.”
“Nature didn’t call you before, did she, Kathleen? Go away and let me sleep.”
“Well, I get the records anyway.” She seated herself blithely on the foot of the bed. Jean sat up and hurled her pillow at her, but Kit dodged and ran, laughing, down the hall.
After breakfast though, when the dew was gone from the meadow grass, Jean had Buzzy saddle Princess, the mare, and declared she was going to ride over and get Sally to take her visiting. Kit and Tommy were busy out in the kitchen garden, and Doris was helping with the dusting. For some reason Jean wanted to go without them on this first reconnoitering expedition.
She rode down the hill toward Elmhurst, bowed with a little rising flush of color to the group in the front of the feed store, and stopped before the brown and white house where the Hancocks lived.
“Hello, Jean,” called Sally buoyantly, beating some oval-braided rugs out on the clothesline. “Can you stop in?”
Jean leaned forward, the reins held loosely in her hand. “I wanted to see if you couldn’t go riding with me. Just so I can meet some of the girls. We want to give a barbecue or some sort of a party to get acquainted with our neighbors.”